Zing 2! : Family Problems

Chapter 4: A Vacation? Sure.

"Hey, Lis, honey, doesn't Martha want to sit at the kid's table?" asked Wanda Wolf.

The twins and the wolf pups were eating furiously from a great big bowl of food served by a Zombie. Lis guarded Martha from the havoc.

"No... Wanda it's not that I don't love your kids, it's that Martha isn't as tough or strong or stubborn as the twins or your kids." Lis looked extremely stressed.

"You know, its stressful being a mommy, isn't it Lis?" Dracula was pushing the subject from before.

"I wouldn't say that, it's rather joyful..." Elisabeth took a sip of her Blood Beater Type A.

Wanda waved her paw at the statement. "Oh, honey, you really are tense. You're drinking Blood Beaters like they're water.

Dracula asked, "Really? You think she is stressed then?"

Wanda smiled. "Oh yeah. Extremely. Lis, you should get one of these stress toys, they really help regulate you." Wanda produced a 'stress toy' - a living, screaming scraggly monster whose eyes popped out for real when Wanda squeezed him.

Johnny was amazed. "Whoa! That's not rubber..?"

The stress toy simply replied, "I'm cool with it."

Dracula smiled as he glanced at Martha. "You know, Wanda, now that you mentioned stress..."

"Actually, Honey, you mentioned it." I'm not that stressed... I'm I?

"...I'm thinking, that what if you girls did something for yourselves?

"You mean like, say, going on a girls' vacation?" Frankenstein asked.

"Oh, that's interesting. You could make great memories! And get a little relax time." Dracula pointed out.

Eunice looked happy. "Yes! That is exactly what you three girls need. You're too wrapped up in your kids, baby doll, and it's a little scary. Honey, go for it."

Wayne ate a bite of meat before speaking. "Wanda and I always make sure we get alone time from the kids."

"Really?" This was highly shocking to Lis.

"It's true." Wanda grabbed Wayne's paw. "Every day at 6 p.m., we lock ourselves in the closet for 30 seconds."

As Wayne spoke, a couple of baby wolf pups hung on to his ears by their teeth. "Doesn't matter how hard they kick the door... that time is for us."

"You know, you haven't gone away since before you two got married." Johnny pointed out.

The last time Lis had left the hotel at all was years ago. A month before Dennis's fifth birthday. She had gone to see her parents for the last time and hadn't returned until a week after Dennis's birthday. When she had gotten back Mavis told her all about what had happened.

"I know. It would be nice...wait, what about Martha? I can't just leave her."

"Oh, right! Darn, I guess you can't do it." Dracula looks to the guys for their cue. They are all busy eating.

Eunice, seeming to catch on to Dracula's plan faster than the others, said, "Honey, your husband would take care of Martha!"

"Whuhhh? Who, me? That's not my ulterior motive at all!"

"Dad did a pretty great job raising me, he couldn't mess up his fourth little vampire as easily as he could have messed me up."

No but he could do worse than he did while watching Dennis.

"Come on, Elisabeth...it's a good idea... let's get that zip back in your step. You used to beat me in races up the mountain while going backwards! Now you're so tired you don't even try to race me." Johnny gave a pouty face.

"Fine... but Mavis and Wanda get to come if they want."

Dracula cheered. "Hooray! Yes!!! You're going!! I mean...whatever."

Wanda looked at Wayne and shook her head. "Sorry girls, I'm not going."

Mavis got over excited. "So where we gonna go?"

"Let's see, you still haven't seen Paris, Florence...Tokyo's very nice this time of year..." Elisabeth started listing off some of places she'd been to on her fingers.

"Wow! You've been way too many places!" Mavis smiled in excitement.

"Not really. You've been one place I never have..." Lis took another sip of her Blood Beater. "I've never been to Santa Cruz. I've never even been to California."

"Really? I thought you'd been everywhere by now," said Mavis. "You know, having been a traveler for so long."

"That was actually the next place I was supposed to go... well before I met Dracula." Lis grabbed Dracula's hand from on the table and squeezed it lightly.

"We could go there and stay with Johnny's parents."

"No." Lis stopped that thought train. "Johnny I love your parents but I've lived under the roof of too many other humans. It doesn't matter where we go I will not stay in another person's home. We'll stay in a hotel." Maybe we'll find one with an indoor pool.

Mavis smiled widely. "Then it's settled! We'll go to Santa Cruz for a week! Just the two of us!"

"I guess. We'll leave tomorrow at sun down. In the mean time I'll plan this trip out." Elisabeth nodded and took another sip or her Blood Beater.

The next day at sunset Lis had every aspect of the trip covered and paid for before the hearse to the airport even arrived.

Elisabeth was giving final instructions to Dracula and Johnny. "It is worm cakes or scream-cheese bagels for breakfast, mosquitoes or flies for lunch, and mice for dinner. My special homemade moisturizer after every bath, and..."

Dracula interrupted her. "And then again before her pjs. And then for 20 minutes I read her book to her or sing."

Mavis looked at Denis. "And you remember how to video chat?"

Dracula "Yes, yes, mom, with the phone."

Lis hugged Dracula and Johnny. "Thanks for trying so hard guys. I'm just gonna miss you all so much. I love you, kids."

"I love you too, mommy!" yelled Martha, the other two distracted by some of the wolf pups.

Johnny picked up Martha as she started to fall asleep again.

Will they even notice I'm gone?  Lis put her arms around Dracula's neck, causing him to lean forward slightly. "You're the best. I love you."

"I'm gonna miss you so much!" Dracula whispered in her ear.

"You have to be strong, honey..." she teased, "because what we have is unbreakable."

Dracula rolled his eyes and kissed Lis. "Now are you sure about going to this California? It's a long ways away. You know, in Borneo right now there's the annual Tossing of the Tuna."

Mavis rolled her eyes. "We're good, Dad."

Lis let go of Dracula and climbed into the hearse.

"Bye Mavis!" cried Johnny.

"Bye boys! I love you!" Mavis yelled. With that she got into the hearse and they drove away.